Text -- Acts 8:31-40 (NET)

8:31 The man replied, “How in the world can I, unless someone guides me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 8:32 Now the passage of scripture the man was reading was this: “He was led like a sheep to slaughter, and like a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. 8:33 In humiliation justice was taken from him. Who can describe his posterity? For his life was taken away from the earth.” 8:34 Then the eunuch said to Philip, “Please tell me, who is the prophet saying this about– himself or someone else?” 8:35 So Philip started speaking, and beginning with this scripture proclaimed the good news about Jesus to him. 8:36 Now as they were going along the road, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “Look, there is water! What is to stop me from being baptized?” 8:37 [[EMPTY]] 8:38 So he ordered the chariot to stop, and both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. 8:39 Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him any more, but went on his way rejoicing. 8:40 Philip, however, found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through the area, he proclaimed the good news to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Act 8:31

¹ tn Grk “He”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tn Grk “How am I able, unless…” The translation is based on the force of the conjunction γάρ (gar) in this context. The translation “How in the world can I?” is given in BDAG 189 s.v. γάρ 1.f.

NET Notes: Act 8:32

¹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (the man) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tn Grk “does.” The present tense here was translated as a past tense to maintain consistency with the first line of the quotation (“he was led like a sheep to slaughter”), which has an aorist passive verb normally translated as a past tense in English.

NET Notes: Act 8:33

¹ tc ‡ Most later mss (C E Ψ 33^vid Ï sy) read “In his humiliation,” adding αὐτοῦ (autou, “his”) after ταπεινώσει (tapeinwsei, “humiliation”), while the earlier and better witnesses lack the pronoun (so Ì⁷⁴ א A B 1739 pc lat). However, the LXX of Isa 53:8 also lacks the pronoun, supplying motivation for scribes to omit it here. At the same time, scribes would also be motivated to add the pronoun both for clarity’s sake (note the similar impulse that led to the addition of δέ [de] by many of the same mss at the beginning of the next line) and to give balance to the lines (the pronoun is indisputably used five other times in vv. 32-33 in quoting Isa 53). On balance, the shorter reading is preferred.

² tn Or “justice was denied him”; Grk “his justice was taken away.”

³ tn Or “family; or “origin.” The meaning of γενεά (genea) in the quotation is uncertain; BDAG 192 s.v. γενεά 4 suggests “family history.”

sn The rhetorical question suggests the insensitivity of this generation for its act against God’s servant, who was slain unjustly as he was silent.

⁴ tn Grk “is taken away.” The present tense here was translated as a past tense to maintain consistency with the rest of the quotation.

⁵ sn A quotation from Isa 53:7-8.

NET Notes: Act 8:34

¹ tn Grk “answered and said.” The redundant participle ἀποκριθείς (apokriqei") has not been translated.

² tn Grk “I beg you,” “I ask you.”

³ sn About himself, or about someone else? It is likely in 1st century Judaism this would have been understood as either Israel or Isaiah.

NET Notes: Act 8:35

¹ tn Grk “opening his mouth” (a Semitic idiom for beginning to speak in a somewhat formal manner). The participle ἀνοίξας (anoixa") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style.

² sn Beginning with this scripture. The discussion likely included many of the scriptures Acts has already noted for the reader in earlier speeches. At the least, readers of Acts would know what other scriptures might be meant.

NET Notes: Act 8:36

¹ tn Or “What prevents me.” The rhetorical question means, “I should get baptized, right?”

NET Notes: Act 8:37

¹ tc A few later mss (E 36 323 453 945 1739 1891 pc) add, with minor variations, 8:37 “He said to him, ‘If you believe with your whole heart, you may.’ He replied, ‘I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.’” Verse 37 is lacking in {Ì^45,74 א A B C 33 614 vg sy^p,h co}. It is clearly not a part of the original text of Acts. The variant is significant in showing how some in the early church viewed a confession of faith. The present translation follows NA²⁷ in omitting the verse number, a procedure also followed by a number of other modern translations.

NET Notes: Act 8:38

¹ tn Grk “and they both went down into the water, both Philip and the eunuch.” Since this is somewhat redundant in English, it was simplified to “and both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water.”

² sn Philip baptized. Again, someone beyond the Twelve has ministered an ordinance of faith.

NET Notes: Act 8:39

¹ tn BDAG 189 s.v. γάρ 2 indicates that under certain circumstances γάρ (gar) has the same meaning as δέ (de).

² sn Note that the response to the gospel is rejoicing (joy, cf. Acts 11:23; 13:48).

NET Notes: Act 8:40

¹ tn Or “appeared.”

² sn Azotus was a city on the coast of southern Palestine, known as Ashdod in OT times.

³ tn The words “the area” are not in the Greek text but are implied.

⁴ tn Or “he preached the gospel.”

⁵ tn Or “cities.”

⁶ sn Caesarea was a city on the coast of Palestine south of Mount Carmel (not Caesarea Philippi). See the note on Caesarea in Acts 10:1.

map For location see Map2 C1; Map4 B3; Map5 F2; Map7 A1; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.